SA Roll of Honour: List of Ranks

List of Ranks

Explanation of Ranks

Abr.	Full	Address	Explanation	Deaths
2Lt	2nd Lieutenant	LT, Lieutenant	Platoon Leader in an Infantry Company	325
A-P	A/P Unknown (Airforce)			7
AB	Able Seaman			44
Adj	Adjutant	Adjutant	Adjutant	19
Agent	Agent			5
AirApp	Air Apprentice			10
AirCpl	Air Corporal			27
AirMec	Air Mechanic			79
AirSgt	Air Sergeant			35
Amn	Airman			13
Arm	Armourer	Armourer	Armourer	1
ArmMate	Armourers Mate	Armourers Mate	Armourers Mate	2
ArmSgt	Armourer Sergeant	Armourer Sergeant	Armourer Sergeant	5
Artificer	Artificer	Artificer		2
AWmn	Air Woman			4
Band	Bandsman	Bandsman	Bandsman	8
Bandboy	Bandboy			1
BandSgt	Band Sergeant			3
BattQMS	Battery Quarter Master Sergeant			2
Bear	Bearer	Bearer	Bearer	16
Blacksmith	Blacksmith			1
Bom	Bombardier	Bombardier	Bombardier	106
BomAct	Acting Bombardier	Acting Bombardier	Acting Bombardier	31
BomWheel	Bombardier Wheeler			8
Brig	Brigadier	Brigadier		3
BrigGen	Brigadier General	Brigadier		0
Bs	Bosun	Bosun		1
BSM	Battery Sergeant Major			7
Bug	Bugler	Bugler	Bugler	39
Burgher	Burgher	Burgher	Burgher or Citizen	94
Cadet	Cadet			10
Capt	Captain	Captain		393
CaptSAN	Captain SA Navy	Captain	Captain	0
Carpenter	Carpenter			2
Cav	Cavalier			2
CConst	Chief Constable			1
Checker	Checker			2
Civ	Civilian	Civilian	Civilian	29
CivCheck	Civilian Checker			1
CivClerk	Civilian Clerk			7
CivCond	Civilian Conductor	Civilian Conductor	Civilian Conductor	42
CivCook	Civilian Cook			1
CivDrive	Civilian Driver			3
CivEng	Civilian Engineer			2
CivEngineDrive	Civilian Engine Driver			4
CivFire	Civilian Fireman			4
CivFit	Civilian Fitter			1
CivLab	Civilian Labourer			1
CivLine	Civilian Linesman			1
CivLocDrv	Civilian Locomotive Driver			1
CivNumTake	Civilian Number Taker			1
CivServ	Civilian Servant			1
CivShunt	Civilian Shunter			1
CivSig	Civilian Signaller			2
CivSigFight	Civilian Signal Fighter			0
CivSurge	Civilian Surgeon	Civilian Surgeon	Civilian Surgeon	19
CivTelInsp	Civilian Tele Inspector			1
CivTicExam	Civilian Ticket Examiner			1
CivVetSurg	Civilian Veterinary Surgeon			3
CivVol	Civilian Volunteer			1
Clerk	Clerk	Clerk	Clerk	17
Cmdt	Commandant. Equiv to Lt Col	Commandant		55
CmdtAst	Assistant Kommandant	Kommandant	Assistant Kommandant	2
CO	Candidate Officer	CO		28
Col	Colonel	Colonel		22
ColSgtMaj	Colour Sergeant Major	Colour Sergeant Major		4
ColVol	Coloured Volunteer			1
Comd	Commander	Commander		2
Cond	Conductor	Conductor	Conductor	21
Const	Constable	Constable	Constable	18
Cpl	Corporal	Corporal	Normally a Section Leader in an Infantry platoon	1206
CplAct	Acting Corporal	Acting Corporal	Acting Corporal	23
CplBugler	Corporal Bugler			1
CplFar	Corporal Farrier			6
CplShoe	Corporal Shoesmith			3
CPO	Chief Petty Officer	Chief		7
CSgt	Colour Sergeant	Colour	Colour Sergeant	87
CSM	Company Sgt Major	CSM		4
Cyclist	Cyclist			2
Domestic	Domestic			1
Dresser	Dresser			2
DrillSgt	Drill Sergeant			1
DriveFar	Driveer Farrier			2
DriveGun	Driver Gunner			5
Driver	Driver	Driver		3
DriveWheel	Driver Wheeler			1
Drum	Drummer	Drummer	Drummer	61
DrumLCpl	Drum Lance Corporal			2
DrumMaj	Drum Major			1
DrumSgt	Sergeant Drummer			5
Drv	Driver	Driver	Driver	505
EngDrive	Engine Driver			1
Engineer	Engineer			1
F-Sgt	Flight Sgt			34
FarMaj	Farrier Major			2
Farrier	Farrier			4
FarSgt	Farrier Sgt	Farrier Sgt	Farrier Sgt	39
Fdct	Field Cornet			114
FdctAst	Assistant Veldkornet	Assistant Veldkornet	Assistant Veldkornet	22
Fireman	Fireman			4
Fitter	Fitter			3
FLt	Flight Lieutenant			2
Foff	Flight Officer			1
Foreman	Foreman			2
FSLt	Flight Sub Lieutenant			5
Gang	Ganger			6
Gen	General	General	General	8
Gnr	Gunner			610
Goaler	Goaler			1
Groom	Groom			1
Guard	Guard			3
Guide	Guide	Guide	Guide	12
HdKroo	Head Krooman		Krooman \Kroo"man\ (kr[=oo]"man), n.; pl. {Kroomen} (-men). One of a negro tribe of Liberia and the adjacent coast, whose members are much employed on shipboard.] The Kroo were (are?) a tribe from the Kroo area of Liberia and the adjacent coast who had been regularly employed by the Royal Navy onboard ship for a considerable period pre-WW1. The term Krooman denoted both a member of the tribe and was also used as an official rank by the RN (krooman, head krooman etc.). It was common for the RN to use local labour on various stations around the world to supplement the regular ships complement - another example would be a Seedie on the Singapore Station. They were entitled to medals although frequently missed out on their awards due to their transient status (they couldn't be employed on continuous service, but had to keep signing up onto a new vessel each time a ship paid off - much like the old RN system). See 1
InspectorAct	Acting Inspector			1
IntDep	Intelligence Department			1
Kav	Kavileer		Afrikaans for Tpr - Trooper	7
Knr	Kornet	Kornet		3
KomGen	Kommandant General			1
Krooman	Krooman		Krooman \Kroo"man\ (kr[=oo]"man), n.; pl. {Kroomen} (-men). One of a negro tribe of Liberia and the adjacent coast, whose members are much employed on shipboard.] The Kroo were (are?) a tribe from the Kroo area of Liberia and the adjacent coast who had been regularly employed by the Royal Navy onboard ship for a considerable period pre-WW1. The term Krooman denoted both a member of the tribe and was also used as an official rank by the RN (krooman, head krooman etc.). It was common for the RN to use local labour on various stations around the world to supplement the regular ships complement - another example would be a Seedie on the Singapore Station. They were entitled to medals although frequently missed out on their awards due to their transient status (they couldn't be employed on continuous service, but had to keep signing up onto a new vessel each time a ship paid off - much like the old RN system). See 10
L-AirMec	Lance Air Mechanic			2
L-Bom	Lance Bombadier			8
L-Cpl	Lance Corporal	Corporal	Normally a Section 2IB in an Infantry Platoon. In the Medics, all Ops Medics (Operational or Combat Medics, are given this rank	1030
L-Sgt	Lance Sergeant	Lance	Lance Sergeant is/was a rank in Scottish or British Regiments	102
LAirMec	L/A/M - L Air Mechanic			1
Leader	Leader			5
LeadStoke	Leading Stoker			1
Linesman	Linesman			4
Ls	Leading Seaman			6
Lt	1st Lieutenant	LT, Lieutenant	Platoon Leader in an Infantry Company	923
LtCmdr	Lieutenant Commander			2
LtCol	Lieutenant Colonel	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	41
LtGen	Lt General	General	General	0
ltSAN	Naval Lieutenant	Lieutenant		0
Maj	Major	Major		123
MajGenl	Major General	General	Major General	4
Messenger	Messenger			1
Midshipman	Midshipman			4
Native	Native			2
NativeDrive	Native Driver	Driver		1
NatSct	Native Scout			4
NurseSis	Nursing Sister	Sister	Nursing Sister	31
Ord	Orderly	Orderly	Orderly	30
ORSgt	Orderly Room Segeant			1
Osea	Ordinary Seaman	Seaman	Ordinary Seaman	9
P-P	P/P Pupil Pilot			28
PAG	P/A/G Unknown (Airforce)			1
Painter	Painter			1
Paymaster	Paymaster			1
Pioneer	Pioneer			4
Piper	Piper			1
PO	Petty Officer			22
Professor	Professor			1
Pte	Private			11208
PvtDrum	Private Drummer			4
QM	Quarter Master			3
QMCpl	Quarter Master Corporal			1
QMSgt	Quarter Master Sergeant	Quarter Master Sergeant	Quarter Master Sergeant	42
Ranger	Ranger			7
Rct	Recruit		Busy with training. Not yet completed basics	10
Regt	Unknown Regt			128
Reverend	Reverend			3
Rfn	Rifleman	Hey You, Troopie, Anneman etc :-)		1387
Royal West	Unknown			0
RQMS	Regimental Quarter Master Sergent			2
RSM	Regimental Sergeant Major	RSM		6
SadCpl	Saddler Coporal			3
Saddler	Saddler			1
SadSgt	Saddler Sergeant			4
SBS	Sick Berth Steward			1
Scout	Scout			36
Sea	Seaman			15
Sgt	Sargeant	Sarge, Sergeant	Normally the "Platoon Sergeant" in an Infantry company	979
SgtAct	Acting Sergeant	Acting Sergeant	Acting Sergeant	2
SgtMaj	Sergeant Major	Sergeant Major	Sergeant Major	81
SgtPipe	Sergeant Piper			5
SgtTrump	Sergeant Trumpeter			2
Shoe	Shoesmith	Shoesmith	Shoesmith	90
Shunter	Shunter			2
SLt	Sub-Lieutenant SA Navy	Lieutenant	Lieutenant	2
Smn	Signalman			31
SpecSct	Special Scout			2
Spr	Sapper			313
SQMS	Squadron Quarter Master Sergeant			6
SqnCmdr	Squadron Commander			1
SSgt	Staff Sargeant	Staff	Normally the QSQM (Quarter Master SGT) in an Infantry Company	46
StaffQMS	Staff Quarter Master Sergeant			3
StaffSF	Staff Sergeant Farrier			5
StaffSM	Staff Sgt Major			14
Stew	Steward			1
Stoker	Stoker			18
SubInsp	Sub Inspector			1
SubLt	Sub Lieutenant			1
Superindendent	Superindendent			2
SupSgt	Superintendent Sergeant			1
SurgAst	Assistant Surgeon	Assistant Surgeon	Assistant Surgeon	1
SurgCapt	Surgeon Captain			1
SurgLt	Surgeon Lieutenant			1
SurgLtCol	Surgeon Lieutenant Colonel			2
SurgMaj	Surgeon Major			1
T-Cpl	Temp Corporal			1
Teleg	Telegraphist			6
Tpr	Trooper		Same as Rifleman except for the Armoured units or the Cavalry	1531
Trader	Trader	Trader		1
TrpQMS	Troop Quarter Master Sergeant			1
TrpSgtMaj	Troop Sergeant Major			7
Trump	Trumpeter	Trumpeter	Trumpeter	10
TrumpLCpl	Trumpeter Lance Corporal			1
UnkEast	Unknown East	Unknown	Unknown (Was East)	218
UnkNorth	Unknown North	Unknown	Unknown (Was North)	111
Unknown	Unknown			9628
UnkRoyal	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown (Was Royal)	0
UnkSouth	Unknown South	Unknown	Unknown (Was South)	537
VegGen	Veg Generaal			2
VetLt	Veterinary Lieutenant			2
Vknr	Verkenner		Scout. Rank for Riflemen at Intelligence School, Kimberley	8
Vol	Volunteer			10
W-Komdt	Waarnemende Komdt			5
W-Korp	Waarnemende Korporaal			1
Wagmeester	Wagmeester			1
West	Unknown West	Unknown		153
Wheeler	Wheeler			1
WO1	Warrant Officer 1st Class	Sergeant Major, RSM etc depending on the position held	Sergeant Major - Normally Regimental Sergeant Major in an Infantry Regiment or Battalion.	38
WO2	Warrant Officer 2nd Class	Sergeant Major	Sergeant Major - Normally Company Sergeant Major in an Infantry Company	32
Wrn	Weerman	Skutter	Afrikaans term for Rifleman	54

Deaths	33675
Stories	1846
Dedications	972
Photos	10545
Units	851
Users	11856